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Exodus chapter 34. In the larger 
context of the book of Exodus, we're in the third section. The 
first section deals with the deliverance of Israel out of 
Egypt by God. That's in chapters 1 to 18. The 
second section is demand, or God's call to them in terms of 
obedience. So chapters 19 to 24, and then 
chapters 25 to 40, the emphasis is upon dwelling. So they receive 
the instructions on how to build the tabernacle, we have this 
interruption in terms of their sin and idolatry in chapter 32, 
and then from 33 on we see something of renewal or restoration by 
God to the covenant in terms of the people. So tonight we're 
going to look at chapter 34. I'll read the whole chapter. 
We'll only get to the first section this evening. So beginning in 
chapter 34 at verse 1. And the Lord said to Moses, cut 
two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write 
on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which 
you broke. So be ready in the morning and come up in the morning 
to Mount Sinai and present yourself to me there on the top of the 
mountain. And no man shall come up with you and let no man be 
seen throughout all the mountain. Let neither flocks nor herds 
feed before that mountain. So he cut two tablets of stone 
like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the 
morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him. 
And he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. Now the Lord 
descended in the cloud and stood with him there. and proclaimed 
the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him 
and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, 
long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping 
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and 
sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity 
of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to 
the third and the fourth generation. So Moses made haste and bowed 
his head toward the earth and worshipped. Then he said, if 
now I have found grace in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I 
pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people, 
and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as your inheritance. And he said, behold, I make a 
covenant, before all your people I will do marvels such as have 
not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation. And all the 
people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For 
it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. Observe what I command 
you this day. Behold, I am driving out from 
before you the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and 
the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to 
yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land 
where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But 
you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and 
cut down their wooden images. For you shall worship no other 
god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Lest you make a covenant with 
the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with 
their gods, and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them 
invites you, and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his 
daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot 
with their gods, and make your sons play the harlot with their 
gods. You shall make no molded gods 
for yourselves. The feast of unleavened bread 
you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened 
bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month 
of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. 
All that open the womb are mine, and every male firstborn among 
your livestock, whether ox or sheep. But the firstborn of a 
donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, and if you will not redeem 
him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your 
sons you shall redeem, and none shall appear before me empty-handed. 
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall 
rest. In plowing time and in harvesting you shall rest. And 
you shall observe the feast of weeks, of the first fruits of 
wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's 
end. Three times in the year all your men shall appear before 
the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations 
before you and enlarge your borders. Neither will any man covet your 
land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three 
times in the year. You shall not offer the blood 
of my sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the 
feast of the Passover be left until morning. The first of the 
first fruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the 
Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat 
in its mother's milk. Then the Lord said to Moses, 
Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I 
have made a covenant with you and with Israel. So he was there 
with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate 
bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the 
words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Now it was so, 
when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of 
the testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the 
mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face 
shone while he talked with him. So when Aaron and all the children 
of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and 
they were afraid to come near him. Then Moses called to them, 
and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned 
to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the children 
of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that 
the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. And when Moses 
had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But 
whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he 
would take the veil off until he came out. And he would come 
out and speak to the children of Israel, whatever he had been 
commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, 
that the skin of Moses face shone, then Moses would put the veil 
on his face again until he went in to speak with him. Amen. Well, as we look at this particular 
chapter, again, it's closely connected to the chapters that 
follow. And it does show restoration. 
So we see that idolatry in chapter 32, which is kind of an anti 
sort of tabernacle emphasis. God gives them instructions on 
how they're to worship. And in the absence of Moses, 
they hanker after a physical representation of the living 
and the true God. So they make this interruption, 
then we see God, or Moses rather, plead with God in chapter 33 
in terms of his presence, and then the chapter ends with Moses 
requesting to see the glory of the Lord. Well, that is fulfilled 
here in chapter 34 at verses 6 and 7. And essentially, in 
chapter 34, you have three things. You have first the revelation 
of God's glory in verses 1 to 9. Secondly, the renewal of God's 
covenant in verses 10 to 28. And then finally, the reflection 
of God's glory in the face of Moses in verses 29 to 35. We'll just take up that first 
section tonight, verses 1 to 9. And here we have the command 
concerning the tablets, and then the descent of God in the cloud, 
and then the response of Moses in terms of worship and prayer. 
But notice in the first place the command concerning the tablets. 
We remember that in chapter 32, after the people are dancing 
before the golden calf, Moses responds by taking the tablets 
and throwing them to the ground. If you look at chapter 32, specifically 
at verse 17, Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted. 
He said to Moses, there is a noise of war in the camp. But he said, 
it is not the noise of the shout of victory nor the noise of the 
cry of defeat, but the sound of singing I hear. So it was 
as soon as he came near the camp that he saw the calf and the 
dancing, so Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets 
out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." 
Now God doesn't upbraid him for that. God does not reprove him 
for that. God is not indicting him for 
having done that. It is not only the response of 
Moses to the idolatry of Israel, but it does picture or demonstrate 
or show something concerning the covenant. They had just sworn 
fidelity to God in chapter 24, and now they've broken that covenant 
represented by these two tablets. So now here in a covenant renewal 
ceremony, it makes sense that God calls upon Moses to cut two 
tablets of stone, 34-1, like the first ones, and I will write 
on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which 
you broke. Now, I should tell you that chapter 
34 is an interesting chapter. There is a competing view as 
to what is happening here. Some count 10 commandments in 
chapter 34, 10 commandments that are different than the 10 commandments 
delivered in Exodus chapter 20. And therefore they posit that 
this is a different scenario altogether. So that when Moses 
goes up on the mount, he receives these ten commandments, but they're 
different than what was expressed in Exodus chapter 20. I do not 
think that's correct. I think that just as Moses wrote 
the book of the covenant in Exodus chapter 24, so he writes things 
that God commands him. But in terms of the Decalogue, 
or the moral law, or the Ten Commandments, God writes that 
specifically Himself. So again, in verse 1, I will 
write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, 
which you broke. And then if you look at chapter 
34, verse 27, write these words, for according to the tenor of 
these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. And 
again, it's those ceremonial commands. The covenant wasn't 
just simply the Ten Commandments, but it was that ceremonial law, 
it was also the judicial law, so Moses writes that as well. 
Then you notice specifically in verse 28, he was there with 
the Lord forty days and forty nights, he neither ate bread 
nor drank water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the 
covenant, the Ten Commandments. And I think the he there refers 
to God. So when it comes to the Decalogue 
of the moral law, the Ten Commandments that were given at Exodus chapter 
20, that's what's happening again here. And remember that the two 
tablets don't have five commandments and then five commandments. All 
ten are on one, all ten are on another, because what these represent 
are the covenant documents. One belongs to God as the covenant 
Lord, and the other belongs to Israel as the covenant vassal 
or the subject. And so then those two tablets 
are put into the Ark of the Testimony for safekeeping. So this is something 
that's even duplicated in our own day. We make copies of contracts, 
we put them in safe deposit boxes, and we do that sort of thing 
to provide security over things that really matter. Well, that 
wasn't only exercised here in Israel, but it was something 
common in the ancient Near Eastern world. Covenant documents were 
put under lock and key, as it were, and they did represent 
the parties involved. involved in that covenant. So 
I don't think that what we have are 10 different commandments 
and a new giving of the Decalogue. It's the same 10 commandments 
that were given in Exodus chapter 20, but accompanying those tablets, 
there's a book of the covenant that Moses is already recording 
according to chapter 24, so he writes these other things in 
there as well. And then with reference to the 
command, it's very simple. Cut two tablets of stone like 
the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that 
were on the first tablets which you broke. So this again is a 
picture, it is a symbol, it is emblematic of the renewal of 
the covenant. So just as the tablets were thrown 
down by Moses in chapter 32, the fact that they're being re-inscribed, 
or a new set of documents are being prepared, that indicates 
that the covenant is going forward. This is a covenant renewal ceremony. In fact, when you look at verse 
10, behold, I make a covenant. This isn't brand new. He's speaking 
about renewing the one that's already extant. The language 
typically used is cutting a covenant. And it refers to that practice 
of dividing the animals and that sort of thing. So it's not a 
brand new thing going on in chapter 34. It is rather the restoration 
of Israel after they had engaged in idolatry. And interestingly, 
chapter 32 and their engagement with idolatry, we see God's wrath. Remember God, according to the 
first section, He wants to just destroy them and He wants to 
start afresh with Moses. Now again, God doesn't change, 
He's not given to passions. These things are written in the 
manner of men to accommodate to us and teach us something 
about God's justice and righteousness. But anyways, we do see a sanction 
come on at least 3,000 people. 3,000 people are executed that 
day for their participation in that particular idolatry. Now 
when Moses cries to God or says to God at the end of chapter 
33, that I want to see your glory. Certainly God could have revealed 
his glory in judgment. God could have revealed his glory 
in wrath. God could have revealed his glory 
in the execution of justice and the destruction of these people. 
but notice the emphasis in terms of the revelation of God's glory. 
We saw that in chapter 33 at verse 19. I will make all my 
goodness pass before you. So Moses asks in verse 18, please 
show me your glory. Well, where do we see God's glory 
summarized? Where do we see God's glory expressed? 
Yes, we see it in justice, we see it in wrath, we see it in 
the execution of His punishment upon criminal offenders, but 
we see it primarily in terms of His goodness. And there's 
a compendium of that there in verse 19. I will be gracious 
to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom 
I will have compassion. So when we move to verses 6 and 
7, we have theology proper taught by God Himself. We have the revelation 
of God's glory in terms of certain perfections or attributes that 
demonstrate to us His goodness. It demonstrates to us His nature. 
It demonstrates to us His being and His majesty. So Moses is 
told to cut two tablets and bring them up onto the mountain. And 
then notice in verse 2, be ready in the morning and come up in 
the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself to me there 
on the top of the mountain. So Moses went up on the mountain 
in Exodus chapter 19. Moses went back up on the mountain 
in Exodus 24, 12, and that carried him all the way, 40 days and 
40 nights, to Exodus 32 when he comes down in the midst of 
the idolatrous calf incident. Now he goes back up on Mount 
Sinai for another meeting with God Almighty. Now notice the 
prohibition in verse 3. It's similar to Exodus 19. No one was supposed to draw near 
the mountain. No one was supposed to get close when God's glory 
was revealed. But in that second ascent by 
Moses up on the Mount Sinai, according to Exodus 24, 12, he 
took Joshua the son of Nun. He took his assistant. Now Joshua 
didn't go to the summit, he didn't go all the way to the top, but 
he was there about halfway. He's the one that told Moses 
that he thought it was the sound of war going on in the camp. 
So in verse 3 it says, So it's a similar prohibition 
that we find in chapter 19. It's a more strict prohibition 
than what we find in chapter 24. And now it's Moses that goes 
up and converses with God. We've already been taught, we've 
already been told that he has a special relationship with God. 
He has this face-to-face reality with God. Now notice he complies 
with that. Verse 4, he cut two tablets of 
stone, like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the 
morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, 
and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. This is also 
going to confirm and verify in the eyes of all of the Israelites 
that Moses was to be trusted. Moses was the leader. The end 
of this particular chapter is that they couldn't even look 
upon his face because it was glowing with the glory of God. Now, the text or translation 
is horns, and some have pictured this scene with Moses having 
horns, but it's probably like horns going out of his head. 
was this emanation of light, the radiance that he had had 
having been in the presence of God. But that would confirm to 
the Israelites that he was in fact God's man and that they 
do need in fact to follow him. Remember, we still got a long 
way to go in terms of getting them into the land of Canaan. 
This is still pretty early. In fact, when God says in that 
passage in like verses 10 to 16 where he's sort of rehearsing 
He says in verse 10, "...before all your people I will do marvels 
such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation. And all the people among whom 
you are shall see the work of the Lord." We know that to be 
the case. We know that God does incredible 
and glorious things as they move through the wilderness, as they 
ultimately move to the promised land. such that even Rahab the 
harlot had heard about the glorious and mighty works that God had 
done as it had been published among the nations around Israel 
at that time. Now notice, we've got the command 
concerning the tablets, now we've got the descent of God in the 
cloud in verses 5 to 7. We have this pillar of cloud 
and fire, here we refer to the descent of Yahweh in the cloud, 
and He stood with Him there. Now remember, an omnipresent 
God, a God who is immense, a God who fills all things, is not 
a God who moves from one location to another. This is language 
for us. Now the Lord descended in the 
cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the 
Lord. I've mentioned to you before about anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism 
is the attribution of human parts to God. And in this case, human 
motion. So this descent by the Lord to 
go stand with Moses. It's written in the manner of 
men. John Calvin wrote about these people. They were called 
the anthropomorphites. And the anthropomorphites thought 
that God actually had body parts. And he said, the anthropomorphites 
also, who imagined a corporeal God, that means a bodily God, 
from the fact that scripture often ascribes to him a mouth, 
ears, eyes, hands, and feet, are easily refuted. For who even 
of slight intelligence does not understand I love the little 
diss that some of these older theologians used to give to anybody 
that disagreed with them. For who, even of slight intelligence, 
does not understand that as nurses commonly do with infants, God 
is wont in a measure to lisp in speaking to us. Thus, such 
forms of speaking do not so much express clearly what God is like 
as accommodate the knowledge of him to our slight capacity. 
To do this, he must descend far beneath his loftiness. So this 
is accommodation language. This is language that is designed 
to instruct us concerning truth about God in a means or manner 
by which we can understand it. Because God is infinite, and 
because we are finite, there is this chasm, there is this 
separation. And so we need to learn by way 
of analogy, and the scripture uses analogy to illustrate, or 
rather to teach us, truth about God. So this descent in the cloud 
to stand with Moses there speaks of his special presence with 
Moses on the top of Mount Sinai to renew this covenant with the 
children of Israel. So it's actually a glorious thing. 
So the children of Israel are dancing before a golden calf. 
God threatens to cut them off and start afresh with Moses. 
They do put the sanction on 3,000 of them. There were still those 
among them that had been participants in that sin. Chapter 33, Moses 
pleads with God to come with us. We don't want to go to the 
promised land unless you're with us. And here, what do we find 
in chapter 34? We find God come down. Every 
movement, and again, in the manner of men, of God toward us is a 
blessed and a wonderful encouragement. You go back to the book of Genesis, 
it's God who comes after Adam and Eve. It's God who comes after 
Abram. It's God who makes the covenant. 
It's God who initiates. It's God who brings it to pass. 
It's God who guarantees the fruition of these particular things. So 
the descent of God in the cloud to stand with Moses there is 
an act of His grace, His mercy and His accommodation to us. 
And then notice, He proclaimed the name of the Lord. He proclaimed 
the name of the Lord. So God is preaching God. God 
is preaching theology proper. He is preaching the doctrine 
of God. And so we should take notice 
with reference to this. Now in terms of the name, There 
are many names given to God in the Scriptures. I mean, we've 
got that banner there that highlights and indicates several of the 
names that are given to God throughout Scripture. Those are revelatory. 
Those are vehicles of God's revelation. They bring to us certain knowledge 
about God, who God is. Bovink says, all we can learn 
about God from his revelation is designated his name in scripture. He says, the name of God in scripture 
does not describe God as he exists within himself, but God in his 
revelation and multiple relations to his creatures. This name, 
however, is not arbitrary. God reveals himself in the way 
he does because he is who he is. That's a reflection on Exodus 
3.14. He is who he is. And then he goes on to say, summed 
up in his name, therefore, is his honor, his fame, his excellencies, 
his entire revelation, his very being. Now, it used to be that 
we would name, we, people, would name children with some particular 
significance attaching to their name. That doesn't always hold 
fast. Nowadays, we just like a name. 
We like the way it sounds, and so we give that child the name. 
But typically, names would carry some meaning about the owner 
of that name, and the scripture refers to the name of God in 
such a way as to communicate to us His perfections, to communicate 
to us His attributes. If you've read theology, you'll 
notice that they typically refer to the attributes of God. Those 
are things that we can say are true of God. We attribute certain 
things to God. We might also say perfections. 
I think perfections is probably a more preferable term, though 
attributes is not incorrect. And so what God does here in 
terms of proclaiming the name of the Lord, we see that he demonstrates 
what the name of the Lord contains in terms of who the Lord is. 
So there is the proclamation of God Almighty by God Almighty. This is a sermon preached by 
God about God to Moses on top of Mount Sinai. Moses' face shone 
with the glory of God when he comes down from the mountain. 
That seems absolutely, positively logical and consistent. To enjoy 
that kind of communion, to enjoy that kind of intimacy, to hear 
that kind of a Bible study affects a man, and it certainly affected 
Moses in a most awesome way. So notice, the name of God is 
ultimately a revelation of who God is. Look at verse 14, for 
you shall worship no other God. For the Lord, whose name is jealous, 
is a jealous God. How could it be jealous? Because 
everything that is in God, all that is in God is God. Just like 
in 1 John, we looked at it in the Lord's Supper meditation, 
God is love. It's not the case that God has 
love, God can love, God does love, God wants to love. God 
is love. God is His perfections. God is His attributes. There are not so many parts that 
make up God. Rather, God is identical with 
His perfections. All that is in God is God. So notice this particular list 
that He gives. So again, this is in response 
to Moses' question in 33 verse 18. Please show me your glory. Verse 19, I will make all my 
goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the 
Lord before you. Well, here that comes to fruition. 
Here God, at Sinai, is doing that with Moses to reveal His 
glory to him. And in the first place, notice 
again where He starts. He is merciful and gracious. 
Now, coming off the heels of this idolatry in chapter 32, 
it almost seems counter-revolutionary, counter-intuitive, that this 
is where God starts. But the fact that the children 
of Israel have not been decimated, The fact that they have not been 
obliterated, the fact that there is going to be this renewal ceremony 
expressed by God to Moses to bring the two tablets up is proof 
positive that he is in fact merciful and gracious. Now this isn't 
confined simply to this part in the Bible. We know that the 
scriptures are replete with this emphasis. Psalm 103, beautiful 
psalm that calls us to praise and thank and bless God for who 
He is. Well in Psalm 103, specifically 
at verse 8, we read the same emphasis. The Lord is merciful 
and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. So as the 
psalmist reflects upon the attributes or perfections of God, as he 
rehearses reasons to praise God, certainly the mercy and grace 
of God are primary elements in terms of that encouragement. 
Now, with reference to grace, we know that that means unmerited 
favor. Mercy is just a bit different. Mercy is kindness or concern 
expressed for someone in need. Mercy, compassion, pity, clemency. The target and the definition, 
those who are in need. Grace is the communication of 
unmerited favor. Mercy is the communication of 
that unmerited favor to those in need. And so we see that God, 
when He starts off with this exposition of His glory slash 
goodness, He starts with mercy and grace. It is a most blessed 
emphasis. Look at Psalm 116. Psalm 116, 
verse 5. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. And you see this all throughout 
the Old Testament. Look at Jonah chapter 4. It's 
one of the reasons why Jonah was upset at the end of his prophetic 
career. Well, I don't know how much longer 
he lived, but at the end of his book anyways. Jonah chapter 4, 
when he's under the tree, when he's getting the respite from 
the heat. Notice in chapter 4 of Jonah 
at verse 2. So he prayed to the Lord and 
said, Ah Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my 
country? Therefore I fled previously to 
Tarshish, for I know that you are a gracious and merciful God, 
slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness. one who relents 
from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please 
take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than 
to live." You're right there in Micah. Look at Micah chapter 
7. Micah chapter 7, this emphasis on the mercy and the graciousness 
of God. Micah chapter 7, specifically 
at verse 18, who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing 
over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He does 
not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. 
He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into 
the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob 
and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from 
days of old. In the New Testament, these themes 
are replete, the grace and mercy of God. We've seen it in the 
book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapters 1, 1-7 and 
2-7 both speak of the riches of God's grace. So in Ephesians 
1-7, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness 
of sins according to the riches of His grace. This isn't a new 
thing with God. When Paul writes to the Ephesians, 
he's not developing a new doctrine of God. God, on Sinai, is revealing 
to Moses his glory slash goodness, and he starts the list with his 
mercy and grace. Notice in chapter 2, specifically 
at, well, verse 4, "...but God, who is rich in mercy, because 
of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were 
dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace 
you have been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit 
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." that in the 
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace 
in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." And then one other 
place, not one other place only, but one other place for tonight, 
look at Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. We see these 
perfections, these attributes come to application in and through 
the life and ministry of our mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Not that they were unaware of it in the Old Covenant, but just 
showing that, tracing from Old to New. Notice in 2.17 in the 
book of Hebrews, Therefore, in all things, he had to be made 
like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high 
priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for 
the sins of the people. That statement is definitive. 
That statement is secure. That statement is programmatic. It tells us the work of the Savior. 
He makes propitiation, not just kind of throws it out there in 
case somebody might want to be saved. Remember that propitiation 
presupposes the wrath of God. God is angry with the wicked 
every day. There is wrath targeted against 
the ungodly. So propitiation is when Christ 
comes to take that wrath, but not, again, in a generic, vague, 
or ambiguous sense. Notice the definiteness here. 
To make propitiation for the sins. Not sin in general, not 
sin kind of, but the sins that you and I had committed. This 
is articulate, that means it's got the article, it means it 
identifies specific sins, the sins that you and I have committed, 
he made propitiation for the sins of the people. Again, not vague, not ambiguous, 
not whoever votes to be his people in terms of free will. And then 
verse 18, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he 
is able to aid those who are tempted. So when God preaches 
God, he starts off with mercy and grace. But he doesn't stop 
there. Notice that he moves on. The 
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. He then highlights 
that perfection called long-suffering. That perfection called patience. 
Now, that perfection is most excellent and most wonderful. Turn to the book of Numbers. 
Numbers chapter 14, a passage that's somewhat similar to what 
we're finding or what we're seeing here in the book of Exodus. Basically 
you have the children of Israel in numbers 13 and 14, basically 
siding with the unbelieving spies. The spies that come back and 
they say, oh, the land is nice, but there's too many giants and 
we're not going to be able to take that land. Whereas Joshua 
and Caleb are like, no, we need to go right now. Let's go take 
the land. Well, of course, the congregation, 
the assembly sides with the ten whiners. They don't go with the 
two men that are believing and trusting the God who said, I'm 
giving you this land. So it wasn't like you've got 
to go in and battle these giants in order to get possession. They'd 
already known it was given to them. It was an inheritance. 
It was a gift. They just had to go and dispossess the land 
of these Pesky giants. They had to get rid of these 
Anakim. Well, of course, they didn't 
want to do that. They just wanted the good stuff for free. They 
didn't want to engage in any of this. So in chapter 14, they 
whine, they complain, they moan, and then Moses intercedes for 
them. And look at how Moses intercedes. He does so in a few ways, but 
notice in verse 16. Well, verse 15. Now, if you kill 
these people as one man, then the nations which have heard 
of your fame will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able 
to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, 
therefore He killed them in the wilderness. And now I pray, let 
the power of my Lord be great, just as you have spoken, saying, 
the Lord is long-suffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving 
iniquity and transgression, but he by no means clears the guilty." 
So Moses uses this perfection of God vis-a-vis long-suffering, 
coupled with a few of these others, to plead with God to be that 
to the people. And so this long-suffering is 
evident all throughout the scriptures. We see the long-suffering of 
God in terms of the history of Israel. We read the history of 
Israel, we say, man, they sure got a lot of judgment, they sure 
had a lot of bloodshed. This was over a long period of 
time. This was over a long time of 
transgressing, a long period of time of aping and taking on 
the characteristics of the Canaanites. It was God's judgment. It was 
according to the covenant. It was the reality that they 
filled up the measure of their guilt and such that it would 
be now their time to reap the consequences. But there was a 
long time in there. The New Testament celebrates 
the same sort of perfection in terms of who God is. The long 
suffering of God, Romans 2.4, that should lead you to repentance. 
We're to forgive one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven 
us. We need to be patient, we need 
to forebear, we need to be bearing, because our God is like that. It's a fruit of the Spirit, according 
to Galatians 5.22, but look at 2 Peter chapter 3, relative to 
the long-suffering of God, the patience of God. 2 Peter chapter 
3, specifically at verse 8. But, beloved, do not forget this 
one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, 
and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning 
His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, 
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 
And then notice over in verse 15, well verse 14, The long-suffering of our Lord 
is salvation. What does that mean? It means 
the fact that the earth continues, the fact that, you know, the 
world has not been destroyed indicates there's elect sinners 
out there that need to be called by the preaching of the gospel, 
come out of darkness into marvelous light, and confess saving faith 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the long-suffering of 
our God to be salvation. So, while there is breath, there 
is hope, and our God is certainly gracious and merciful and He's 
long-suffering. But going back to this doctrine 
of God as preached by God, after merciful and gracious and long-suffering, 
it then goes on to say abounding in goodness and truth. So like 
Paul sort of throws adjectives on top of words or adverbs to 
show and illustrate the exceeding riches of his grace, the great 
love with which he loved us, he just piles up all these words, 
so does God in this doctrine of God, and abounding in goodness 
and truth. He doesn't just sort of give 
you a little bit here or there, he abounds in goodness and truth. One theologian says, if it is 
God's attribute of majestic holiness that emphasizes his transcendence 
over his creation, it is God's attribute of goodness that underscores 
his condescension toward his creation. So holiness demonstrates 
His transcendence, goodness demonstrates His condescension. The fact that 
He relates to us in kindness, and in love, and in mercy, and 
in grace, that He does so with this long suffering. He's abundant 
in goodness, and He abounds in truth. Psalm 31.5, the Lord God 
is the Lord God of truth. Psalm 138, Yahweh magnifies His 
Word even above His name. The Lord Jesus, obviously, in 
the New Testament, I am the way, the truth, and the life. In the 
passage we're coming up to in John 10, I came that they might 
have life, and that they might have it what? Abundantly, not 
just in a miserly, okay, here's your pittance, here's what I'm 
gonna give you, and then there's no more. That's not the God of 
Holy Scripture. That's not the God who's revealing 
Himself here at Mount Sinai in this Old Covenant setting. It's 
not the God who reveals Himself in the New Testament through 
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He abounds in goodness and truth. Notice then it goes on to say 
He keeps mercy for thousands. And I think we should supply 
the word generation. He keeps mercy for thousands 
of generations. And this harkens back to the 
second commandment in Exodus chapter 20. Exodus 20 and verse 
4, You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness 
of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth 
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not 
bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am 
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 
to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing 
mercy to thousands." And again, I would supply generations to 
those who love me and keep my commandments. So it's demonstrating, 
it's highlighting, it's showing. Not that, you know, everybody 
always only ever receives good from God. There is justice. And 
this list is going to end with that. He's going to visit, rather, 
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's 
children. There is justice, there's righteousness. He's not a pushover, 
but the overarching reflection or revelation here is on the 
goodness of God in terms of the grace and mercy He pours out 
upon His people. And then notice, not only this 
keeping mercy for thousands of generations, notice that He forgives 
iniquity, transgression, and sin. That's a good thing, because 
we're full of iniquity, transgression, and sin. He could have just said 
one of those terms, and that would have been great. Oh great, 
he forgives sin, alright. But sin, iniquity, transgression. There's not a whole lot of difference 
between those words. Might be a little bit here or 
there, little nuances here or there. But I think it's a comprehensive 
list. I think the take-home message 
is that when it comes to God, In terms of his relation to his 
people, he forgives them of their sins. He cleanses them from all 
unrighteousness. He doesn't just partially engage. Rather, the blood of Jesus Christ, 
his Son, does cleanse us from all sin. John Gill says, forgiving 
iniquity and transgression and sin. The word used signifies 
lifting it up and taking it away. Thus Jehovah has taken it from 
the sinner, and put it on his son who has borne it, and made 
satisfaction for it. And in so doing has taken it 
quite away, so as to be seen no more. And through the application 
of his blood to the conscience of a sinner, it is taken away 
from thence, and removed as far as the east is from the west. 
The psalmist rehearses in Psalm 103, as far as the east is from 
the west. God takes our transgression. 
The prophet Micah says he casts our sins into the depths of the 
sea. He goes on to say, from whence it appears that it is 
in Christ, and for his sake that God forgives sin, even through 
his blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and satisfaction. And this forgiveness 
is of all sin, of all sorts of sin, original or actual, greater 
or lesser, public or private, open or secret, of omission or 
commission, of heart, lip, and life. Now I think at times we 
are a bit hesitant to publish that. We want to tell sinners 
that God really does forgive sin, because then they might 
get it in their head that they can go sin. Paul counters that 
argument in Romans 6.1. What shall we say then? Shall 
we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be. 
I think he probably counters that objection because he had 
heard that objection. He preached justification by 
faith alone in a synagogue, and at the back of the synagogue 
they'd come by and they'd say, if justification by faith alone 
is true, then it really doesn't matter how we live. If justification 
by faith alone is true, then I can go out and sin and God's 
going to forgive me. Paul says, may it never be. The 
true gospel never results in a desire for sin or license in 
terms of sin, but nevertheless, there is forgiveness with thee 
that thou mayest be feared. So when Gill makes a statement 
like this, and this forgiveness is of all sin, of all sorts of 
sin, original or actual, greater or lesser, public or private, 
open or secret, of omission or commission, of heart, lip, and 
life, he's right. If that's not the forgiveness 
of sins that the Bible brings to us, then we're all going to 
be dead in our sin and perish eternally in hell forever. We 
need to come to grips with the reality of God's forgiveness, 
not so that we can go out and sin, but when we do sin, we remember 
that we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ 
the righteous, and He cleanses us, and He washes us, and He 
restores us. Now certainly throughout the 
scripture, just a couple of passages, look at Psalm 25. Psalm 25 specifically 
at verse 11. Look at how the psalmist argues 
here in terms of forgiveness. Psalm 25, well verse 8, good 
and upright is the Lord, therefore he teaches sinners in the way, 
the humble he guides in justice, and the humble he teaches his 
way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such 
as keep his covenant in his testimonies. Now notice, for your namesake, 
O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Two arguments as 
to why he wants God to forgive his sin. One, for the glory of 
God, and two, because the greatness of his sin. That's not typical 
Christian praying, God forgive my sin because I'm so bad. It 
should be. I think that's consistent with 
what we find here. For your name's sake, O Lord, 
pardon my iniquity, for it is great. When God says in Exodus 
34 that He forgives iniquity and transgression and sin, that 
is not to encourage the people of Israel to go out and sin. 
It is rather to encourage them to see how good and glorious 
God is. and how worthy he is to be served 
and feared and honored and loved and adored. So when we see and 
understand these perfections, it should move us in such a way 
as it does with Moses. Moses worships and Moses prays 
to God based on these realities. And then the final aspect, I've 
already mentioned this, is that he's righteous and just. He is 
all of this goodness, but even this justice is an expression 
of his goodness. Brethren, in a world where the 
wicked is not punished, that does not seem like a good world. 
When you get to the book of Revelation, you see persons, people groups, 
excluded from the Holy City, from the New Jerusalem. Why is 
that? because they're not washed, they're not converted, they're 
not saved, they don't enter in. And so in that New Jerusalem, 
that blessed city of God's people, there is an exclusion of those 
on the outside. Same sort of a thing here. So 
while there is forgiveness for our iniquity, transgression, 
and sin, it's nevertheless the case that there's justice and 
judgment and righteousness on those who are in their sin. And 
that's how verse 7 ends, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting 
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's 
children to the third and the fourth generations. And that's 
not because there's some transgenerational sin passed on through the genes. It's typically through imitation. When one man is an idolater, 
he typically teaches his sons and his grandsons to engage in 
idolatry. That's why the emphasis there 
on second and third generation. It's not the passing on transgenerationally 
of some DNA. and as a result you're going 
to be punished for your great-grandfather's sin. The prophet Ezekiel deals 
with that in Ezekiel chapter 18. The soul that sins shall 
die. There is nevertheless this imitation 
in families when you see your father committing idolatry nine 
times out of ten you're going to follow in his footsteps and 
do the same thing. Now notice in conclusion the 
response of Moses to the Lord. The first response is worship. We saw that with that man born 
blind in John chapter 9. When Jesus says, do you believe 
in the Son of God? Who is he, Lord, that I can believe? And so Jesus tells him, it's 
me. So what happens? Lord, I believe, and then he 
worshipped him. These things go hand in hand. 
discovering or realizing or recognizing or seeing God as God leads inevitably 
to worship. The Deuteronomy 6, 4, and 5. 
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So Moses 
made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped, 
a perfectly consistent response. But then on the basis of this, 
he petitions, he then prays. Then he said, if now I have found 
grace in your sight, O Lord. And he has mentioned this in 
chapter 33 at verses 12, 13, and 17. Moses was a skilled intercessor. He knew how to come before God 
Most High. He knew how to invoke blessing 
from God Most High. He knew how to petition God Most 
High. And as a result, we should follow 
Moses' pattern. We should follow Moses' footsteps 
in terms of how to pray to God intercessorially. When we come 
before the Lord, it is not wrong to bring arguments. Paul is oftentimes 
looked at as a wonderful model or example of praying but as 
well Moses in the Old Testament certainly demonstrates this if 
now I have found grace in your sight and he's established that 
he in fact has on the basis of that he then gives this petition 
let my Lord I pray go among us something he expressed in chapter 
33 verses 14 to 16 this is what Moses wants he wants God with 
them in the promised land Not just the angel, but rather he 
wants God Most High. And then notice the assumption 
built into his prayer. Let my Lord, I pray, go among 
us, even though we are a stiff-necked people. I think that's kind of 
interesting. Even though we're a stiff-necked 
people, kind of almost because we are a stiff-necked people, 
we need your presence, we need your mercy, we need your grace 
and your provision and all that you stand poised to do with reference 
to us. even though we are stiff-necked 
people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as your 
inheritance." It is a most blessed revelation of who God is under 
the head of glory slash goodness. He reveals these perfections, 
and when Moses receives these perfections, the revelation of 
it, he prays accordingly. Of course they need forgiveness. 
Of course they need to be counted as God's inheritance. Because 
in chapter 32, God is saying, I'm going to destroy them, and 
we'll start with you, Moses, and we'll make a new nation. 
And so Moses presents this specifically to God in light of what God has 
said concerning God, and this is the kind of prayer that avails 
much with God. So, in conclusion, let us not 
only admire and stand in awe, verses 6 and 7, but let us respond 
accordingly in terms of worship and confidence and dependence 
upon this God who reveals himself as he is to the sons of men. Well, let us pray. Our gracious 
God, we thank you so very much for this list, this list of attributes 
or perfections, these things that tell us about who you are. 
And we have learned this by experience in terms of our understanding 
of the gospel, our faith in Christ, that faith which is a gift given 
by you. We rejoice in your mercy, we 
rejoice in your graciousness, the fact that you abound in goodness 
and truth. And God give us ears to hear 
and hearts to receive these things and may it affect us in terms 
of worship, in terms of our lives before you, and in terms of our 
walk in dependence upon you. And we pray now that you would 
go with us, watch over all the brothers and sisters in our local 
church, be with All those who are struggling, we pray that 
you would just be merciful. We know this has been a difficult 
season and so many things going on, and yet, Father, we know 
that we can be still and know that you are God and that you 
are over all things.